In My Solitude, I Found You
by EssieScrawls
Summary: The city Arthur lives in gets hit by a huge storm and he figures it's best for him to move somewhere else. But where? His high demanding job has made him live in pretty much solitude and that's biting him right in the butt. He calls everyone he knows, but no one calls him back. Will his ex Merlin be his only hope? Is Merlin willing to help?
1. Chapter 1

"Arthur, I knew you were still at the office. Please go home. There's a storm about to hit!" Elena shrieked at her boss through the phone when she found out he was still at the office. It wasn't the first time she brought the storm up to him, it must've been a dozen times that day. She had tried since eleven o'clock in the morning to get him to pack up his stuff and find some refuge. This storm was supposed to be the worst one to hit Southern England, and particularly London, in many years. When he hadn't budged at two o'clock, she went home, scowling at her boss when she left his office.

Arthur put the back of his pen into his mouth and stared at his screen. "Hmmm, yes, after I finish this."

Elena sighed heavily over the phone. "Arthur, this is getting ridiculous." She waited a few more seconds to see if her boss was changing his mind, before growling loudly. "That's it! I give up. Arthur, I'm going hang up now so I can be with my family. I pray to god you will go home now as well. I seriously don't want to turn on the news tomorrow and see your dead body on there. You hear me!"

"Hmm-m, yes, dully noted." Arthur murmured and ended the call. Elena was just overreacting, just like everyone else. Even the news was _so_ overreacting. It was bloody England, of course there would be rain, of course there would be wind. There really was no difference than any other day of the week.

 _Code red_. Arthur sniffled at the thought. Yeah, like that's a first. Every time the Met Office sends out a code red it _always_ turns out to be a lot lighter than they predicted. He's sure this time won't be any different.

Arthur did glance at the clock and saw it was almost seven pm. _When did it become that late?_ Maybe it's time for him to go home, take a long hot shower, do some revision work and then eat some left-overs before diving into bed so he can wake up refreshed before tomorrow's work day.

Yes, that's exactly what he's going to do.

He checks his mailbox one last time and when he has sent out one last important email, he shuts his computer off and throws some papers he needs to revise in his suitcase and puts on his long coat.

Outside the wind had picked up a bit, but not nearly as much as the reporters said it would. _Amateurs._

Thankfully his car was close-by and when he's seated he turns up the heating.

 **~oOoOo~**

"What the hell!" Arthur shot up on his bed after hearing a particularly hard crash. Was it coming from outside?

He climbed out of bed and opened his curtains. It was raining heavily and he guessed it was still in the middle of the night since the lamppost lights were still on, albeit now flickering. He looked around more from behind the window and saw the powerlines and trees shaking by the strong winds and all kinds of stuff and trash were dragged along the streets by the wind. If he saw correctly, some parked cars were also moving just slightly.

The loud crash he heard just now must've been coming from the trashcans that were picked up by the wind and slammed against his house. It must've been that, because he was witnessing it right now with another trashcan.

"The hell." Arthur exclaimed again and turned away from the window. He tried to turn on the lights, but they didn't do anything. "What is this kind of crap!" Arthur yelled, searching for his phone with the little light offered to him from outside. When he found it, he had no signal and Arthur sighed heavily and sat down on his bed, holding his phone up until he could find a wifi-signal.

When he finally found one, he went to the latest news broadcast. It was broadcasted an hour ago.

 _"We've just got confirmation that most of Crawley has been suffering from major flooding and electricity blackouts. People are desperately trying to flee from the rising water and most families are being caught up on the roofs of their homes. The emergency services are trying everything in their power to help these families. The storm doesn't have any signs of slowing down as it heads to London, where it will hit the lower part the hardest. The people in the lower part are being evacuated as much as the emergency services can handle, but advice is to stay indoors and barricade doors and windows. The storm is headed to Ipswich after London, before meteorologist claim that this storm will leave England. For now the Royal Family is evacuated to –"_

Arthur clicked the broadcast away, he couldn't care less what those royal bastards did. _Damn_ , this storm was no joke as he suspected. But he might be safe from it. After all he lived in the upper part of London. He just had to sit tight for now and then in the morning he could get on with life as he knew it.

If only that would be true.

* * *

 *** Met office is UK's national weather service**


	2. Chapter 2

_This was ridiculous._ Arthur thought as he looked out of his window into the eerily empty street. He might live in a detached house with little neighbours in the street, but this? Seeing pretty much no people on the streets, even after two days after the initial storm had hit, was seriously _ridiculous_.

He still had no electricity or water and the food in the house was running out. The roads were a mess and even if he went out, he still couldn't get any groceries since every shop in a thirty mile radius was closed. The lack of water irked him more though because he couldn't grab a decent hot shower and he hated that. He had to shower with some bottled water this morning and that was an absolute hell. At least he felt somewhat clean now, but he knew that he had to move.

But where? He had called and left voicemails to pretty much everyone he knew who lived up north to ask if he could stay with them, but no one picked up or called him back. He had no idea why though…

Arthur turned away from the window to sit down on his couch. The few candles he found in the back of a cabinet was all the light he had around him. _God, it's like living in the Middle Ages!_

Sighing, Arthur turned his phone on again. His back-up battery was close to dying now too, but he had to try to see if there was _someone_ that would answer his call. He scrolled down his contacts lists and sighed even deeper when he saw that he had called everyone yet there was to call. Except…

Arthur shook his head, turning off his screen and putting the phone next to him. There was no way Merlin would take him in. Merlin might be a gentle soul, but the way they ended things eight years ago… well, it wasn't pretty.

With one last deep inhale and running his hand over his face, Arthur picked up his phone again. It was worth a try, right? He clicked Merlin's name and saw Merlin's home number and mobile. He thought for a second, if he'd called his mobile, Merlin would see it was him calling and then there was a 120% chance that Merlin wouldn't answer. His home number however… well, it was a good chance Merlin still didn't had a caller ID. Yes, it was better to call on his home number.

Even though he made up his mind, his finger stil hovered for the longest time over the green telephone icon. All the while his blinking battery was taunting him with an one percent battery level. This was it, it was no or never.

With closed eyes he clicked the green button and held the phone against his ear. It rang twice before it connected.

 _"_ _Hello? Merlin here."_

"Hey, it's Ar-" The line suddenly disconnected and Arthur pulled his phone from his ear to see his screen was black. "Dammit! Fucking useless thing."

Should he – should he just drop by? It wasn't like there was anything left for him to do here. He couldn't get to work because he physically could not get _in_ to work since his building was electronically secured and since the power in the city was out, the building was more sealed than the general prison.

He had no other choice. It was either going to Merlin or staying here, so that decision was quickly made. He got one of the candles and went upstairs to throw some clothes and hygiene products into a bag and then went down to the garage to get into his Jeep. At the way the roads looked, he would get farther with his Jeep than his Ferrari.

Before he knew it, he was on his way to Merlin.

 **~oOoOo~**

He was really there, Arthur realized. About halfway through his trip he started to seriously doubt himself whether or not he was making the right decision, before thinking to himself that this was _obviously_ not the right decision, but he still drove on. Maybe, somewhere deep inside him, he wanted to see Merlin again and maybe, just maybe they could make up again. Sure, Merlin said he wouldn't want to be with him because he was too obsessed with his job, but seriously? That couldn't just be the only reason, right? At the time he just left it be, because he was too busy with his upcoming promotion and hadn't seen Merlin since.

When he drove into the town Merlin lived in his whole life, Arthur began to doubt whether or not he would still live in the same house, but there was one way to find that out. He drove up to the house and waited in front of it, trying to spot Merlin. He didn't had to wait very long, because minutes later Merlin popped out of his house to pick up the mail.

When Arthur saw him a light inside him that had been dormant for so many years sparked to life. Merlin was still as gorgeous as he'd ever been, maybe even better. He certainly aged well like a fine wine.

It took a few minutes after Merlin had gone inside again for Arthur to pick himself together and walking up to the house. He rung the doorbell and seconds later the door already swung open.

"Hi sweetie!" Merlin answered and Arthur frowned when Merlin was bending over and was pretty much staring at his knees. Merlin slowly straightened himself and moved his eyes up to the person in front of him. His eyes budged. "Oh."

"Hello, Merlin." Arthur answered suavely.

"Arthur? What the hell are you doing here?"

"As you might've seen on the news, there was a storm in London and it basically left the whole city without power or water. I wondered if I could possibly stay here for a few days. I know I don't have the right to -"

"And you didn't think you could've booked a bloody hotel?"

Arthur coughed uncomfortably. Actually, he hadn't. Not once did that came up into his mind. Why it hadn't, he didn't know. "Erm-"

"Ohhh!" Came a child's voice from behind them. "You said a bad word, daddy!"

Arthur turned around to see a small boy standing just a few feet behind him. Hair as blond as his own, eyes as blue as Merlin's… _the hell?_

The child quickly passed him and went to stand with Merlin, who placed his hands on top of the child's shoulders. Merlin looked like he was about to pass out.

"Merlin, you okay?" Arthur questioned.

Merlin just blinked at him before crouching down. "Finn, why don't you get yourself some juice, okay?" His voice came out raspy, but the child didn't seem to catch up on it.

"Okay, daddy." Finn answered with a toothy smile and ran off inside the house.

"So, you've got a child." Arthur remarked, his own jealousy flaring up. He knew that Merlin must've moved on after him. It has been eight bloody years, of course Merlin must've met someone else.

Before Mrlin could answer, Finn came running towards the door again. "There are no juice boxes left in the fridge and I hate the taste of the warm ones."

Merlin was staring at Arthur and Arthur stared back at him. Quickly, Merlin coughed once before bending forward again. "I'll get you something else in a minute, okay?"

Finn nodded. "Okay, daddy." He said, then turned to Arthur, his head tilted. "Why are you staring at my daddy like that?

"It's nothing, dear." Merlin said, trying to push his son back into the house again. "This man was just leaving."

"This _man_ , does have a name, okay?" Arthur said, noticing Merlin's eyes going even wider and his head shaking no almost unnoticeably.

The child butted in again. "I am Finneen, but everybody calls me Finn." Finn said, holding his hand out to Arthur. Arthur looked at it before reluctantly shaking it. He wasn't really particularly fond of children. Never had been. Now he thinks about it, that was another part why he and Merlin hadn't worked out.

"I'm Arthur."

"Cool. My second name is Arthur. Daddy said he once knew an Arthur."

"Did he now?" Arthur asked with a quirked eyebrow, looking up to Merlin's blushing face.

Finn nodded heavily. "And then he said to auntie Gwen that he-"

Merlin quickly put his hand over his son's mouth. "Okay, Arthur has to go now. Say bye, Finn."

The child waved. "Bye, Arthur."

Arthur did a two finger salute to the child and stared at Merlin. "Please don't tell me you really named your child after me. It's not like he's mine." Arthur joked.

Merlin shifted from foot to foot. His hand rubbing circles in his neck. "Well… _fuck_ _this was not how I imagined it to be_." Merlin whispered under his breath. He didn't dare to look up to Arthur. "I mean, it was bound to get out essentially…" Merlin looked from under his eyelashes, and sawthe blood slowly drain out from Arthur's face when realisation began to set in.

"Y-you mean, h-he's. Y-you, me?"

Merlin shrunk slightly into himself before nodding slowly.

It took a few silent second, but then Arthur's voice thundered. "And you didn't think I had the right to know!"

"You never bloody listened when I _told you something!"_ Merlin thundered back. "I tried telling you, if you must know, but you _never_ gave me some attention because all you ever cared for was your precious job. Well, Arthur, I hope it brought you lots of joy!" Merlin ended by smacking the door close in his face.

 _Fuck,_ Arthur thought. _Fuck, fuck, fuck!_


	3. Chapter 3

"Daddy, why is Arthur calling our house so many times?" Finn asked. He was sitting on the couch tucked under his father's arm watching some TV. In the background Arthur 's voice could be heard, leaving yet another message on the answering machine.

"Just ignore it, little man." Merlin said, carding a hand through his son's short blond hair. "Hey, how about we'll go out and buy some McDonalds?"

Finn's eyes widened with joy. Merlin smiled at him. "Go on, put on your shoes and get your jacket. We'll go in about five minutes."

Finn ran off to do as he asked and Merlin let out a sigh. He knew he had to face Arthur some time and what better time than today? He grabbed his phone from the coffee table. He first had to do something else. He dialled Gwen's number and it took only a few rings before she picked up.

"Hey Gwen, can I ask you for a favour?" At Gwen's hum he continued. "I'm going to McDonalds with Finn now, can you perhaps pick him up there at let's say seven? And can he perhaps stay the night as well?"

"Sure. Do you have a late appointment with a client or something?"

"Err, not exactly."

"Merlin," Gwen chastised playfully. "Do you have a date you haven't told me about?"

"No! No, nothing like that. Quite the opposite actually. I'll tell you about it tomorrow, okay?"

"Well, you are making me curious now, but alright, I'll wait 'til tomorrow. See you around seven then."

"Thanks Gwen, you're the best." Merlin ended the call and immediately dialled another phone number. This time it only rung one time before the line got connected.

"Merlin, thank God." Arthur sounded deflated and Merlin actually felt a little bit bad about it. "We need to talk about it."

"Yes," Merlin answered. "That's why I'm calling. Can you meet me around half past seven?"

"Sure. Where?"

"Uhm, are you staying somewhere?"

"Albion Hotel, down the road of-"

"Yeah, I know where that is. Can I meet you in the lobby around half past seven then?"

"I'll be there." Arthur answered and Merlin clicked the call away. He needed time to arrange his thoughts and find a way how to explain all of this to Arthur. Well, it's not like it was his entire fault to begin with. If Arthur had just given him a chance to let him explain eight years ago, than this whole thing probably wouldn't have happened to begin with.

He didn't had much time to dwell on it, because next thing he knows is his son bouncing in front of him begging him to go already.

 **~oOoOo~**

"Be a good boy for auntie Gwen, okay?" Merlin said to his son as he buckled the seatbelt and gave him a kiss on his hair.

Finn nodded heavily. "I will, daddy."

"I'll pick you up tomorrow before school, okay?"

"Okay."

Merlin smiled at his son and pushed the door closed. He gave a wave back when Finn waved his goodbye and then turned to Gwen.

"Thank you so much, Gwen. I'm sorry this is all so last minute."

Gwen waved him off. "Don't worry about it. We love to have Finn around."

"I'll be at yours around seven tomorrow morning."

Gwen stepped closer. "Don't you worry about time. I'm sure whatever it is you have to do now is important. Just text me tomorrow whether or not you can make it, otherwise I'll drop him off at school."

"I don't know what you have concocted up in that head of yours, but what I'm about to do will _not_ take up the whole night."

"Well, as long as you don't tell me what your plan is, I'm left here to think of it myself." Gwen teased and Merlin gave a small snort.

"Just, thanks again."

 **~oOoOo~**

Just minutes before the agreed time, Merlin stepped inside the hotel lobby. It was one of those obnoxiously expensive hotels and he felt _so_ out of place. Arthur was at his side soon enough to not let him dwell in his thoughts.

"It's good to see you, Merlin." Arthur smiled and Merlin gave a tentative smile back.

"Is – er, is there a place we can chat in private?"

"How about we go up to my room?"

Merlin nodded and followed Arthur to the elevators and rolling his eyes when he saw Arthur push the top floor and scanned his hotel card at the card reader. "Figures you'd take the penthouse." Merlin mumbled, but saw Arthur's back slightly stiffen. Good, that pretentious bastard had it coming.

The ride up was made in uncomfortable silence with Merlin staring at the emergency evacuation plan on one of the walls until the elevator came to a stop with a ding and the doors slid open.

The elevator stopped right in the living room and it was _bloody massive_.

"Please, sit." Arthur offered with outstretched arm towards the sofa. "Do you want anything to drink?

"A water is just fine, thanks."

Arthur gave a nod and returned moments later with two glasses which he placed on the coffee table. He cleared his dry throat. It wasn't every day you've learnt you had a child you never knew you had. And the man who you undoubtedly still had feelings for was sitting right next to you.

He'd done a lot of thinking since he'd been sent away from Merlin's house and had walked aimlessly through the city centre for most of the day. At one point he came across a toy store and he saw something there that he just _had_ to buy.

"Before you say anything, I want you to know that I've bought something for him," Arthur said as he pulled a small box with three knights in it out of his pocket. "I don't know if he even likes it, but I know I loved to play with these when I was his age." Arthur gave a shrug and watched whether or not Merlin would take his present. To his surprise he actually saw Merlin smile.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

Merlin reached out to pick up the small box and gingerly traces his fingers over it. "It's just – he's fascinated with knights, even dressed up as one with Halloween. I could never understand his infatuation with it, but now," Merlin breathed out a laugh. "Now I know where he gets it from."

"Merlin, I know now that I've been a complete arsehole when we dated – hell, I realised I've been an idiot up to the day that I realised I had a son." Arthur shook his head. "But just knowing he exists just _turned_ something inside me. I want to get to know him, but I can imagine that you're not entirely happy with that."

Merlin sat silent for a while and Arthur was afraid he hadn't heard a thing he just said. He was about to say something again when Merlin breathed deeply in and out.

"It's not that I don't want you in his life, because that's actually what I wanted since he was born." Merlin flicked his eyes up to Arthur's. "But Arthur, you were always so work obsessed. That's not going to change just because you realised you have a child." Arthur opened his mouth to object but Merlin put his hand up. "Who's to say you won't leave after a week or so because Finn takes too much of your precious time? I – I can't put him through that, you'll have to understand."

"I know, but Merlin when the storm hit and I tried all my contacts to see if I could crash somewhere, _no one_ picked up or called me back. At first I didn't understand, but later on I got to think about it. Even though I have daily contact with them through work, they – they aren't actually people I can call friends and that thought woke me the hell up. Merlin, I'm 34 and I don't have any close friends or family. I am all alone in this world and maybe that's why I've been immersing myself in work so much, just to let me forget I actually have no one."

"You had me. Once."

Arthur hung his head in shame. "I know, and I've been a fool for not showing you enough how much I loved you. Still love you." He added as an afterthought and he saw Merlin's head snap up. Arthur nodded. "When I saw you again yesterday, I – I don't know exactly what it was, but I just felt _home_."

"I cannot just forgive you for the things you've done like that, you know."

"I know. But that's not at all what I'm asking. I just want you to know that I'm ready to turn my life around. I'm going to let my work know next Monday that I'll cut my hours. I want to do it right this time around. As long as you're willing to have me." Arthur smiled softly and waited anxiously for Merlin's answer. Of course he knew that eight years wasn't made right within a day, but he'd take every day that Merlin was willing to give him.

Finally, after one agonizing minute Merlin nodded his head slowly. "Alright. If you're willing to try, than so am I. But, Arthur, you cannot let him know who you are yet. Not until I know I can trust you."

"Thank you, Merlin." Arthur smiled broadly. "You won't regret it."

 **THE END**

 **At least for now it's the end. Perhaps I'll make a sequel where Arthur actually gets introduced to Finn as his father. This story was intended more of a distraction for myself from the busy school life.**


End file.
